Metallic railway tie



J. sfREsPEssl METALLIC RAILWAY TIE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3.4921.

1,410,509. Patented Mar. 21, 1922.

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TEN? @FFHQ 7 JOHN B. RESPESS, OF WASEINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA.

METALLIC RAILWAY TiE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented E 131. 21, 1922.

Application filed March 3, 1921. Serial No. 449,291.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, JOHN B. Rnsrnss, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVashington, in the county of Beaufort and State of North Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railway Ties, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is directed to improvements in metallic railway ties.

The primary object of theinvention is to provide a tie of this nature so constructed as to impart to the rails mounted thereon the natural resiliency characteristic of the usual wooden cross-tie.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tie of this character which is extremely simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, and being formed from sheet metal, necessarily durable.

With these and other objects in view, this invention resides in the novel features of construction, formation, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the tie.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the tie.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on a different line from Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view.

The tie 1 is formed wholly from suitable sheet metal, and comprises a top plate 2 and downwardly and outwardly inclined side plates 3 formed integral therewith, the lower edges of which terminate in horizonta-l flanges 4. The ends of the plate 2 terminate in integral downwardly and outwardly inclined end plates 5, the inclination of which is substantially that of the side plates 3. These end plates 4 have their lower edges terminating in horizontal flanges 6.

A bottom plate 7 is provided and has its side edges rolled, as at 8, to provide longitudinal confronting grooves 9, the ends of said plate being similarly rolled to produce confronting grooves 10, the purpose of which will appear later.

It will be noted that the flanges 4 of the side plates 3 have their edges normally spaced from the bases of the grooves 9, while the flanges 6 of the end plates have their edges normally engaged with the bases of the grooves 10. Thus it will be apparent that when a train is passing over the ties that the side plates 3 will be subjected to such weight and flex outwardly, and at which time the associated flanges 4 will slide outwardly in the grooves 9. As soon as the ties are relieved of the weight of the train the natural resiliency of the ties will cause the side plates 3 to retract and the flanges 4 will slide inwardly until they assume their normal positions. Since the side edges of the end plates 5 are separated from the adjacent portions of the side plates 3 it is obvious that the latter plates may freely flex, and the inward movement thereof will be limited by the said end plates.

Since the edges of the flanges 6 of the end plates 5 are at all times in contact with the bases of the grooves 10, said flanges, and consequently the plates, are held against movement in the respective grooves, but suflicient resiliency is imparted to the tie due to the fact that the flanges 4 of the side plates are slidably engaged in the grooves 10.

At each end of the bottom plate 7 there is integrally formed a spur 11, which is adapted to be embedded in the roadbed ballast, and serve to prevent longitudinal movement of the tie.

Notches 12 are formed in the rolled sides of the tie, for the reception of the usual spikes when it is desired to fasten the tie to bridge structures, or other wooden structures.

The rails 13 may be secured to the ties 1 by fastening devices 14, said devices being preferably of the same type as those disclosed in my application Serial Number 406,951.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Vhat is claimed is:

1. A tie of the class described, comprising a top plate having integral side and end plates, the ends of the Side plates being normally in contact with-the side edges of-the end plates, each side and end plate being provided with flanges, a bottom plate having grooves associated with its sides and ends for receiving the flangesof the side bottom plate having its sides and ends rolled to provide grooves, the flanges of the side plates being slidably mounted in the side grooves of the bottom plate while the flanges of the end plates engage the grooves of end of the bottom plate, and are held against sliding movement therein. 7

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN B. RESPESS. Vitnesses I W. L. V UG AN, COLLIN H. HARDING, 

